Capturing the Art of Nature
Mt Seymour & Goldie Lake
On my previous trip to Seymour I noticed an interesting hike to Goldie Lake. So our goal for today was to see what sights the lake offered.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2007
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It was an ideal day for landscape photography – just enough cloud to give the sky some interest. Upon arrival at the parking lot we made our way to the side and looked for the signs that would point us in the right direction. There are a number of hikes available up here but I was interested in the Goldie Lake hike as it wasn’t difficult and promised some interesting scenery.
The first part of the trail is straight downhill; this surprised me a bit as I figured we would be going up. Of course this meant that our return later would be all uphill and that wasn’t very encouraging. The path to the lakes was well traveled and easy to follow. As we walked we noticed numerous large mushrooms along the trail that needed our attention and as they were much larger than the ones I find in the forest in South Surrey, I took several shots of them. Our first glimpse of the lakes was through a frame of trees and it showed great promise as to what we might find ahead.
The first of the lakes we came to was very over-grown with grasses and lily pads. The lake was sectioned by the weeds into small ponds which offered a variety of different combinations of grass and water scenes, each with their own nuances of beauty. As we made our way along the first lake we came by a few other hikers who were doing the circuit in the reverse direction.
Once past the first lake we climbed a small rise to then look down upon Goldie Lake itself – the largest of the group. This small lake was not as covered with grasses and with its irregular shape offered numerous viewing angles and points of interest. The water was glassy still yielding a perfect reflection of the surrounding trees. I was very impressed with this little lake; the small alcoves gave many very different settings for photography that varied greatly over only a few yards distance. The setting was one in which I could spend hours enjoying and teasing out the subtleties of the area thanks to the shape of the shoreline. We decided to soak in the serenity of the place as we ate part of our lunch. We were fortunate that there were very few hikers down here while I was taking the bulk of my photos, a few groups did show up later as we were making our way back.
Our trip back took us much longer as we took a wrong turn which led us down to a lower parking area on the road up the mountain. Though it meant more hiking it did give us a few more views than the basic hike would have. When we made it back to the car we finished our meal and I then searched out the Ham radio tower that I occasionally use for chatting. In the process of looking for the tower I came across several more clumps of large mushrooms that were crying out for some recognition. The hike was well worth while and I will be back next season to see what new adventures the lakes provide.